“Clear!” Henry piped through the dark. We all set our posts down, then we repeated the process for the next few sections until I had another one-inch-wide strip of land on the Svensson estate.
“We didn’t see anyone!” the toddlers said in excitement.
I fist-bumped each of them. “Great work.”
“And fish sticks for dinner!” Davy said excitedly.
“You can’t feed them fried food,” Mace said to Parker.
“It’s my night, and I can feed them whatever I want,” he countered. “Besides, they use a cauliflower breading. The Intimate Pickle website has a whole bunch of man-friendly healthy recipes online. Sadie’s been working with them to come up with new dishes.”
Weston snickered. “I can’t believe Hunter gave them money.”
Garret scowled in the dark. “Just one of his many questionable choices.”
My phone went off before I could snap back at him.
Karen Holland:Hey, Hunter. I saw your name on the local news for New York local elections. I’m going to be in town on business in a few days. Want to catch up?
Karen. Now there was a name I hadn’t heard in years. When I worked as a lawyer in Manhattan, Karen was the opposing counsels on a divorce case. She represented Walter Holbrook, the man who had stolen Greg’s and my company out from under us, and I had represented his ex-wife, Danielle, in the divorce. I despised Walter for robbing me, and he hated me because on Christmas, his ex-wife had more than likely set her house on fire, killing their three children. Karen had been Meg’s supervisor and had been instrumental in having her fired.
Meg hated Karen. Now Karen was coming to Harrogate. I grinned.
“Evil plan incoming,” Weston quipped.
“It’s a brilliant plan!” I crowed, laughing. “If Meg thinks Karen has a chance of getting me, she’ll basically kidnap me and make us get married.”
“Why can’t you just tell Meg how you feel?” Arlo asked me. “And take her some flowers and out for a picnic?”
Garrett snorted. “Hunter’s made far too many mistakes for his situation to be solved with flowers and a picnic, Arlo.”
The house was lit up when we emerged from the forest. My mind was already spinning with my latest plan, mapping the chess moves out in my head.
I give it two, maybe three weeks, then Meg is mine, and we live happily ever after.How many kids would we have? I definitely wanted girls.
“Emergency! Emergency!” Calvin, still in his white-and-red-striped fast-food uniform, reeking of french fries, yelled, running out onto the terrace.
We turned to him. Nightmare scenarios played in my head. Car crash? Had our father returned to town? Was it our sisters?
He bent over, sucking in air, then stood back up.
“The Holbrooks are here. In Harrogate!”
13
Meghan
Itook a huge bite of my burger once we were back in my apartment. I relaxed on the corner of my bed and moaned slightly.
“This is exactly what I needed.”
“And you need wine,” Kate said, grabbing a glass out of the tiny cabinet over the counter.
I ate a handful of french fries then took a long sip of my shake.
“Dang,” Kate said. “It’s worse than I thought.”
“My life is falling apart. Hunter is trying to ruin me,” I said around another bite of cheeseburger.
